5 Ways to Take Care of Herpes Mouth

Medications to suppress the herpes virus or to speed up healing are available

Lysine, an amino acid, can help improve our immune response to the virus to speed up healing

Natural compounds found in red grapes and yogurt may also be able to help reduce cold sores

Most people don’t know that cold sores are caused by a version of the Herpes virus. Although not sexually transmitted, this version is contagious and is actually harbored by about 80% of the population. If you do get herpes mouth sores, chances are you are going to want to find a fast way to cure the sore. Here are a few treatment ideas.

1. Suppressive Medication

Having an occasional cold sore is no big deal but if you’re suffering from multiple outbreaks each month you might want to consider taking a daily medication to keep the virus from flaring up. Valtrex ad Zovirax are two types of prescription medications used for this purpose. While they are normally prescribed for genital herpes, they also work as a herpes mouth treatment. In some cases, you may experience nausea, diarrhea, or headaches as side effects of the medication. You should not take the medication if you are trying to get pregnant or if you are already pregnant.

2. Topical Ointments

Most of the time patients are going to use some type of prescription or over-the-counter (OTC) topical ointment. If you are only interested in relieving the discomfort associated with the cold sore, OTC medicines such as those containing lidocaine or benzocaine are acceptable. Abreva is available without a prescription, too, but it can also speed up healing time if applied right away. Denavir is a prescription-strength topical ointment that can be used to treat the symptoms and speed up healing but must be applied to the cold sore every two hours.

3. Lysine

If you’re interested in alternative treatments, one of the most promising is lysine. We already consume lysine from some of the food we eat, including beef and dairy products, which is good because it’s an important amino acid that helps improve the functioning of our immune system. A recent study found that using a Lysine ointment actually sped up healing for the participants. About 40% of the participants had their cold sores healed within three days. You can also take Lysine as a supplement instead to speed up healing.

4. Resveratrol

One of the most powerful naturally-occurring compounds against cold sores is resveratrol which can be found in red grapes. One study found that when a topical cream made from this compound was applied directly to an area where a cold sore was developing it actually stopped the development. Another promising finding is that the compound combated cold sores that were resistant to prescription strength ointments.

5. Yogurt

Today, we’re learning more and more about the powerful health benefits of yogurt. Those live cultures found in yogurt have provided all sorts of positive effects on our bodies and one of them can actually help fight back against cold sores. Known as Lactobacillus acidophilus, this culture can actually speed up the healing of cold sores and can prevent new cold sores from forming. While eating yogurt regularly might be of some use, if you want to combat cold sores you should purchase the capsule forms of the living cultures at your local natural food store.